Samsung's DRAM sales drop in Q1 for 2nd quarter

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chip maker, saw its DRAM sales fall in the first three months of the year for a second quarter on weaker prices and other negatives, but the company retained its top spot in the global market, data showed Tuesday.

Samsung's DRAM revenue came to $10.34 billion in the January-March period, down $9 million from three months earlier, according to the data from global market researcher Omdia.

It marks the second straight quarter of falls. Samsung's sales of DRAM, its flagship memory product, dropped 9 percent on-quarter to $10.5 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.

Yet Samsung retained its leading status in the global DRAM market, with its market share having come to 42.7 percent as of end-March, up 0.8 percentage point from three months earlier.

DRAM, or dynamic random-access memory, is a type of volatile semiconductor memory that retains data as long as power is supplied. It is commonly used in personal computers, workstations and servers.

The decrease in Samsung's DRAM revenue came amid a cyclical downturn in DRAM prices, the prolonged war in Ukraine and disrupted production of tech products stemming from China's coronavirus lockdowns.

DRAM prices have been on a steady decline since sinking 9.5 percent in October last year and shrinking 8.1 percent in January this year.

SK hynix Inc., the world's No. 2 DRAM maker, reported DRAM sales of $6.56 billion in the first quarter, down $871 million from the October-December period. Its market share dropped to 27.1 percent from 30.1 percent over the cited period.

But U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology Inc., the third-largest industry player, saw its first-quarter DRAM revenue increase by $575 million to $6.03 billion, with its market share rising to 24.8 percent from 22.1 percent.

Global DRAM sales stood at $24.25 billion in the first quarter of this year, marking the second consecutive quarter of declines after peaking at $26.24 billion in the July-September period of last year.

Meanwhile, industry watchers painted a gloomy picture of the global DRAM market for the second half of the year, as DRAM prices are feared sink as much as 10 percent amid soaring inflation and concerns over recessions in major economies.

"With DRAM spot prices recently trending lower, pandemic-induced strong demand for DRAM could evaporate should makers of personal computers and smartphones try to adjust DRAM inventories amid slumping sales," Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo said. (Yonhap)